Marbles to hold in-person camps and offer at-home activity kits this summer

Marbles Kids Museum, which serves hundreds of families with summer day camps each year, announced Wednesday morning that it will offer in-person camps in the coming months, but with some modifications. It's also launching a Marbles Camp-To-Go experience with summer activities that kids can do at home.

Camp Marbles, according to its website, will start on June 15 with a revamped line-up of weekly camps that include exclusive play in the museum and outdoor activities.

"Marbles has redesigned our 2020 summer camp program to align with local, state, and CDC guidelines to provide a safe, play-based learning experience for summer campers," the website says. "Camp Marbles is a longstanding community favorite for summer enrichment. While camp will operate a little differently this year to ensure camper and counselor health and safety, we promise it will be playful, fun, creative and original."

Camp options are available for kids ages 3 to 10 and include a half-day preschool camp, a half-day school age camp and a longer-day school age camp. Half-day camps are $160. The longer-day camps are $290.

Marbles has launched a series of health and safety measures and participation standards for this summer.

For the preschool camp, each group will be no bigger than 10 campers and two counselors. For the school-age camp, there will be 15 campers for every two counselors. Groups won't intermingle during the day, and groups and staff will remain the same throughout the week. Inside themed activity rooms, campers won't share materials and will maintain a social distance from each other.

Staff and volunteers will have their temperature taken each day. Parents will be asked to answer daily health screening questions about their children. Marbles staff and volunteers will be required to wear masks. And campers are "highly recommended" to wear masks and will receive a gaiter-style masks on the first day of camp.

"In order to keep camp groups separate, as required by CDC guidelines, Marbles is unable to provide before or after care at this time. In accordance with health and safety regulations, Marbles is unable to offer cooking camps this summer," the website says.

Many families already are signed up for summer camps at Marbles. With the new format, they'll need to re-register, but will get first priority when selecting their camps. Registration for the general public will open on June 6 for any remaining spots. Marbles is offering a full refund of deposits to families who have already signed their child up for camp, but are electing not to attend.

For families who are looking for at-home alternatives for campers, Marbles also has launched a Marbles Camp-to-Go program that includes activity kits with lots of hands-on activities and crafts. The themed kits are designed for ages 3 to 4, 5 to 6, 7 to 8 and 9 to 10. They cost $125 each.

"Our capacity will be lower than it has been in the past but we are also offering Marbles Camp-To-Go which lets you take the Marbles Camp Experience home this summer," said Sarah Brown, Marbles' director of marketing, in an email.

Marbles shut down its downtown Raleigh museum and IMAX theater in mid-March because of the COVID-19 pandemic and is suffering the loss of months of revenue from ticket sales, admission fees, birthday party rentals and other planned camps and activities. Last week, Marbles urged its supporters to contact Wake County commissioners after the county's proposed budget cut funding for the museum, along with other nonprofit groups. For the last seven years, Marbles, which operates inside county-owned buildings, has received $650,000 from Wake.

Across the region, local camp providers are making changes to their summer offerings. The YMCA of the Triangle is offering summer camps with COVID-19-related precautions. Raleigh parks summer camps are canceled through at least June 26. The town of Cary, the North Carolina Museum of Art and the Museum of Life and Science have canceled June camps. The N.C. Museum of Natural Science sand N.C. Museum of History have canceled their 2020 summer camps. Camp Kanata, Camp Sea Gull and Camp Seafarer have canceled its overnight camps, but Kanata, which is in Wake Forest, will offer its day camp.

Some are offering virtual camps, including the Museum of Life and Science, Science Fun for Everyone, Raleigh Little Theatre and NC Theatre Conservatory.